Who Was Responsible for Protecting the St. Joseph Pension Fund?
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
It is less than two weeks since the St. Joseph Health Services pension fund filed for bankruptcy, but a GoLocal investigation has unveiled that those empowered to protect the pension fund — elected officials, the Diocese of Providence, board members of various healthcare entities, and paid consultants — did little to properly fund, protect, and salvage the retirement fund for nearly 3,000 present and former employees of the hospital.
Equally disturbing, no one warned the retirees. They learned of the bankruptcy when GoLocal wrote the first story on August 18, 2017.
SLIDES: READ ABOUT THE PLAYERS BELOW
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAs early as the mid-2000s, while the pension fund was under the sole control of the Diocese of Providence, the Diocese began to cut back the necessary contributions and in some years made no contribution.
The board of the hospital for decades was a collection of some of Rhode Island’s most powerful. Former Speaker of the House Matt Smith, former Governor Joe Garrahy, former Supreme Court Justice Joseph R. Weisberger, and developer Joe DiStefano all served on the board in the period of time when the hospital was running up huge debts -- and the contributions to the pension were being cut.
The board members were not properly briefed, looked away or failed to understand the gravity of the situation.
In 2009, Our Lady of Fatima and St. Joseph Hospital were merged with Roger Williams Medical Center — creating a bigger, but not much more fiscally viable, healthcare group. In 2014, the hospitals were sold to Prospect of California’s CharterCARE.
Hospital Conversion Act
The sale of all hospitals must be reviewed by two state agencies. The Rhode Island Department of Health has the responsibility to review how the care of patients will be impacted.
The top law enforcement officer of the state of Rhode Island - in the case of this deal, Peter Kilmartin - is statutorily assigned the responsibility of protecting the employees in the transaction. In this case, Kilmartin seems to have failed in that role.
The Attorney General is the backstop, and he failed to review or assess basic financial documents as they related to the pension fund.
GoLocal breakdowns the layers of oversight and their collective responsibilities to review the status of the pension fund and its financial health.
Related Slideshow: Who Was Responsible for Protecting the St. Joseph Pension Fund?
Related Articles
- St. Joseph Bankruptcy: Diocese Failed to Make Contributions to Employees Pension Fund for Years
- Moore: State Should Rescue St. Joseph’s Pensioners
- Mattiello Blasts Kilmartin on St. Joseph Pension Fund Bankruptcy
- Siedle: St. Joseph’s Pension Fund Bankruptcy Shows RI Needs AG Who Knows Pensions
- After Week of Silence, Kilmartin Issues Statement on St. Joseph Pension Bankruptcy
- NEW: Raimondo Gives Comment St. Joseph’s Pension Fund Bankruptcy, Kilmartin Refuses
- EXCLUSIVE: Major RI Pension System Files for Bankruptcy
- Who Was Responsible for Protecting the St. Joseph Pension Fund?
- Receiver: St. Joseph Pension Bankruptcy Will Impact As Many as 2,800, 40% Cuts to Benefits
- READ: St. Joseph Pension Fund Bankruptcy Documents
- United Nurses and Allied Professionals Statement on Bankruptcy of St. Joseph’s Retirement Fund
- 10 Things to Know About One of Biggest Pension Failures in RI - St. Joseph Bankruptcy
